Re: literary criticism

I don't know -- Nabokov was a pretty prolific critic himself and his
message about critics/criticism in _Pale Fire_ seemed a bit, oh,
ambivalent at worst. While the Russian critic was reinventing the
American poem in his own image -- to the point where the author of the
poem was literally sacrificed to save the critic -- the American poem
was about baseball and everyday life in America, while the Russian
critic's poem was about a monarch in hiding, political intrigue,
assasination attempts...the stuff that very interesting stories are made of.

Fact is the critic's personal story was more interesting than the poet's.

I wished he'd just found another way to tell it :).

Jim

Kim Johnson wrote:

>i don't know the source, but agree with jim's
>suggestion.
>
>nabokov--now there's a writer with utter disdain for
>critics. (unless it's the case of 'eugene onegin' and
>he himself is the man for the job.)
>
>kim
>
>--- James Rovira <jrovira@drew.edu> wrote:
>
>
>>Heh...if it's not from Nabokov's _Pale Fire_ it sure
>>as heck should be :)
>>
>>Jim
>>
>>John P Baumgardner wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>I haven't paid close enough attention to all of the
>>>
>>>
>>postings here to use
>>
>>
>>>this quote as a response, but it is undoubtedly
>>>
>>>
>>relevant to that lengthy
>>
>>
>>>conversation that transpired several weeks ago. I
>>>
>>>
>>will not place the
>>
>>
>>>source yet, but am very interested in how long it
>>>
>>>
>>will take someone to
>>
>>
>>>place it. I mostly desire to know how popular is
>>>
>>>
>>this book which I am
>>
>>
>>>currently enjoying.
>>>
>>>"In literary criticism the critic has no choice but
>>>
>>>
>>to make over the victim
>>
>>
>>>of his attention into something the size and shape
>>>
>>>
>>of himself."
>>
>>
>>>It is entirely more enjoyable in its context than
>>>
>>>
>>by itself.
>>
>>
>>>
>>>And while I'm making a far less than frequent
>>>
>>>
>>posting, I have another
>>
>>
>>>thought. Pertaining to the "Franny and Zooey"
>>>
>>>
>>conversation, I recently
>>
>>
>>>read the jacket of the hardback (2nd Ed.) of F&Z.
>>>
>>>
>>I was wondering who else
>>
>>
>>>had access to this little letter from J.D.S. and
>>>
>>>
>>how they feel it affects
>>
>>
>>>the whole debate?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>J.P. Baumgardner
>>>
>>>-
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>>>
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>>
>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>
>
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Received on Wed Dec 4 14:20:19 2002